Motherboard suggestions? (Z87)

[Sarge]

Soo... I've finally got rid of the rest of my old hardware, and now I'm looking to venture into the land of Z87; already have a 4770K waiting to be put to use, so all I need is a motherboard for it!

So what I'd like to ask, any suggestions for what motherboard to purchase? any input is welcome

Currently I've got my eyes on the Maximus VI Formula, but my mind is not set though, would love to hear others opinion.


Budget up to $400.

[najiro]

Any color preference or budget? If none, I think a ROG board will be fine.

[Sarge]

Would say budget is around ~$360.. could have gotten the GA-Z87X-OC Force for around that price, but I wasn't a fan of the orange colour nor the PCIe layout (only plan on SLI with 2 cards - and they need 1 slot spacing)...

[killjoyjim]

Go with the Max.

[najiro]

MSI Z87 MPower Max?

[TeeBlack]

MSI Z87 Mpower Max!

[Sarge]

The MSI's are strong contenders too.. but I like nifty features on motherboards

I'll list the choices and their relative prices below:
ASUS Maximus VI Formula - ~$375
MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming - ~$237
MSI Z87 Mpower MAX - ~$310
ASUS Maximus VI Hero - ~$255

Is there even anything to consider from ASRock or Gigabyte, in the same feature area? (all Gigabyte mobos have a 4 year warranty here)
Remember price is not of concern - at least up to ~$400..

[killjoyjim]

It is really red...lol. This is the ECS Z87 mPower.Better pic.

[Mgutierrez33]

Here's the thing with the Z87 chipset and the boards they offer:

There is realistically very little that separates them from one another. Even overclocking potential is off by only as much as 100 MHz in most cases between boards... even the mITX variants. It all boils down to budget, reported stability, and looks at this point in the game. That's what's so nice about Intel right now, the selection is near limitless so long as the board's feature set meets your needs and you like the look of it. Even the VRM on the boards doesn't matter so much anymore because the primary VRM is located on-die with the Haswell processors. Basically, so long as it's a well known brand, pick the board that fits within your build budget and fits the look you are going for and you're set... just don't get the Intel branded boards, they do legitimately suck x-D

[TeeBlack]

as far as Asrock goes take a look at the Asrock Extreme9 or the Asrock OC Formula

[Sarge]

The Extreme9 is too expensive - and the PCIe layout on the OC Formula isn't suitable either, it does however have an acceptable price... ~$329..

I'll have to make my choice today, as I want a fully functional PC by tuesday the latest

[Sarge]

I was wondering... is EVGA even a viable option, or do their compatibility/bios still suck? (issues, errors, etc.)

[Sarge]

Just went ahead with my gut feeling and got the Maximus VI Formula, it's a killer with the looks

Bad quality mobile phone pic (all I got).

[najiro]

Yeah that looks nice
What's your chassis? HAF X? Very neat! I like the partial PSU cover that hides the cables.

[Sarge]

Yeah it's HAF X - it's not too pretty but it keeps my hardware cool - 4x 200mm fans Thought about changing it to something else in the same size-category, but it's too hard to get rid of it, plus I had already bought expensive magnetic dust filters for it (DEMCiflex), so just decided to keep it Would use my HAF XB, but the square size doesn't really fit anywhere on, under or next to my small desk.. was a bit stupid of me to buy it I guess